In my early twenties, the joke of “adulting” was thrown around. And it was exactly that. A joke. A phrase used to precede a story of when someone had done something completely and utterly irresponsible like waking up in a strange room after a big night where an expensive leather jacket and wallet were lost at a late-night kebab shop (hypothetically)…

Defined by UrbanDictionary:

Adulting (v): to carry out one or more of the duties and responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals (paying off that credit card debt, settling beef without blasting social media, etc). Exclusively used by those who adult less than 50% of the time.

 “I was REALLY bad at adulting this weekend… *blah blah* …but the kebab was delicious and the policeman was very understanding”.

But now I’m… kind of an adult? Right?

So, when should I actually start to adult? And why do I suddenly care?